In Canada, we like to mix up both systems. We get our weather temperatures in Celcius , but we prefer our pool temperatures in Fahrenheit. Construction plans are laid out in millimeters, but materials are sold in inches (thank you USA). So, we have to be bilingual in units as well, eh.

http://www.amsterdam-mamas.nl/articles/privilege-paradox-bilingual-education

(against my better judgment I tried clicking on one of his dumb links. It didn't take ten seconds before it had told me that all bilingual nations historically destroy themselves in tumultous unrest, like Canada, China, or India...)

Yeeeeaaaah... this looks like more of a glorified daycamp than a kindergarten to me. My daughter is in a "traditional" bilingual kindergarten now and she's already learned her colors, shapes, letters, and numbers in both languages. They've just started learning to spell and do basic addition and subtraction. She also learned how to use the school computers to surf the Net--approved sites only of course, so don't expect her to be Sifting anything anytime soon! Oh, and she LOVES school. The "pedagogue" who says kids that young aren't ready to learn is full of shit. My daughter comes home from school wanting to practice counting and spelling every day.

I think I prefer that kind of education for her future than how to climb tall trees (though I guess that kind of skill might come in handy if we have a Walking Dead-style zombie apocalypse).

And no one formally checks on these kindergartens to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing? Fuck that. Sounds like pedophile paradise to me.

Though I have no particular reason to think so, I bet they filmed each scene twice, once in Mandarin and again in English. There could be two versions.

Maybe not, but they'd be potentially losing out on the Chinese market otherwise and those of the cast I recognized are bilingual.

Blinded by your shiny new Silver ... you Star you! Congratulations Laurence ... good on ya dude [I could be bilingual too]

This is America. We aren't bilingual. Much less trilingual.

Even the person who noticed didn't speak Spanish, he just figured it out.

(When I sent the link, the "final update" hadn't been posted yet. I didn't even know about the timeline until just now.)

>> ^bareboards2:

My favorite cop moment was when the bilingual cop asked a question in Spanish to a scared looking little man. The man answered, in Spanish, "I don't speak English." You see the cop take a breath, to translate what he said into Spanish -- and he stops himself.
"Wait, I asked that question in Spanish." Turns to his partner, "Didn't I say that in Spanish?!" Turns back to the scared looking little man, "I asked that question in Spanish!!!"
Both of them were so bilingual, they confused themselves.
I have watched maybe 15 minutes of Cops in my lifetime, and that little jewel just happened to be part of my channel surfing.


Submit that.

My favorite cop moment was when the bilingual cop asked a question in Spanish to a scared looking little man. The man answered, in Spanish, "I don't speak English." You see the cop take a breath, to translate what he said into Spanish -- and he stops himself.

"Wait, I asked that question in Spanish." Turns to his partner, "Didn't I say that in Spanish?!" Turns back to the scared looking little man, "I asked that question in Spanish!!!"

Both of them were so bilingual, they confused themselves.

I have watched maybe 15 minutes of Cops in my lifetime, and that little jewel just happened to be part of my channel surfing.

Ha, I'm bilingual French/English, and I've been switching between billion and "milliard" (in French) without ever thinking about it. Cool knowledge!

Some number trivia: Japanese counting of large numbers is based on 4 zeros instead of 3. For example, one million is "hyaku man" or "one hundred ten thousands".

Wow, that was indeed bullshit. The American on the radio should have spoken Spanish. That the liaison with the military was not bilingual is inexcusable.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'jose nunez, bilingual, erotic, hot, hard, sexy, sex, song' to 'jose nunez, bilingual, erotic, hot, hard, sexy, sex, you fucking me makes me bilingual' - edited by dystopianfuturetoday

Hey QM,

I'm going to put this real simple: you go to Europe and find that most people benefit from the fact they know multiple languages... only stupid people fear bilingualism (or multilingualism, etc.).

As for this video, I hate to say it, but I'm not gonna side with the student. Their actions are NOT rtepresenative of an environment where discussion is to be fostered. Just like the poster a few up said, they didn't ask to ban him from talking, but effectively did the same thing by storming the stage.

That said, the minutemen are douchebags.

>> ^xxovercastxx:
Not such a big deal, really. I think it was an understandable reaction to the question the translator gave her.

Not really. Having been to conferences in Ottawa, the house of commons, senate, and senate committee meetings where the occasional slipup happen with translations(we are bilingual up here but that doesn't stop multi-language translations with dignitaries). You suck it up, and if you think that the question is wrong you ask for a clarification. You don't fly off the handle, if you do, you're showing that you're not in control of the situation. It's bad for diplomacy, and it's bad for public image. And it shows that you're not fit to be in that position.

It's pretty obvious that she has some serious power control issues, and if someone even considers crossing into her area or implying anothers' opinion it's very verboten.

>> ^ponceleon:
I love QI, but every time I watch a clip, I feel embarrassed to be an American. This show just glorifies knowledge, learning, and how it can be fun, funny, and witty... it seems that most of our popular culture glorifies laziness, extreme consumption, stupidity and blind patriotism.
Case in point, languages. America has this INEXPLICABLE phobia of bilingualism. Rather than embrace other languages and encourage our young people to learn them, we are too busy passing laws making English the "official" language and forcing others to learn it.
I'm absolutely sure I'm going to get flamed for this comment, but I just don't think America would ever produce a prime-time show like QI and attract big names to be on it... we are much more likely to have a NASCAR race, hotdog eating contest, or something involving bullshit paranormal "science" like ghost hunting (man, that ghosthunting stuff pisses me off).



Then again I suspect only America could give us The Wire, Deadwood, Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. These are things that English tv are unable to match.

Still, I feel your pain.